Pick up trash in your neighborhood and this Miami artist will thank you with an NFT
In Miami, artist David Anasagasti is renowned for his unique approach to environmentalism. He paints on trash.
Known online and in the streets as Ahol Sniffs Glue, Anasagasti is the easy-going, bike-riding, vape-puffing dude behind Geographies of Trash, a project in which he bikes around town, draws on a discarded item and posts it online for people to pick up for free. It’s a win-win: the city is a little bit cleaner, and a resident gets a unique piece of art.
This weekend, in celebration of Geographies of Trash Day in Miami-Dade County on June 30, Anasagasti wants people from across Miami-Dade and around the world to pick up trash in their own neighborhoods, post about it online and get their very own limited edition NFT.
“Trash is universal,” Anasagasti said. “We all make trash, and we all need to pick some s--- up.”
Until Sunday, anyone from anywhere in the world can participate for free, Anasagasti said. Here’s how it works.
Step one, get some trash bags. Step two, go outside and pick up some trash. Step three, film or photograph yourself filling up the trash bags. Step four, post the proof on the Biscayne World Discord channel, a public social media platform where Anasagasti posts about the Geographies of Trash project. Joining is free and simple, the artist said.
And that’s it. Everyone who participates gets a free, limited edition NFT artwork Anasagasti made. It’s a psychedelic dumpster with the signature Ahol Sniffs Glue eye motif on it.
Even if NFTs aren’t your vibe, Anasagasti said the most important thing is getting people outside to take care of their communities.
“It gets people talking,” he said. “It puts you in the position to show that you care.”
Since he started the Geographies of Trash project in 2021 with Florida International University’s Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator, Anasagasti has developed an active online community of trash-turned-art hunters who love bike riding, cleaning the streets and collecting art.
In recent years, the project has been recognized by several local municipalities for the positive impact its had on the community. Last summer, Miami-Dade County proclaimed June 30 as Geographies of Trash Day.
Anasagasti and friends celebrated the recognition with a remote cleanup event last year. About 20 people participated. This year, Anasagasti is hoping for even more folks to get involved.
Melissa Harmon headed outside Friday morning to clean up trash in her Broward neighborhood.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, there’s enough trash to go around that you don’t have to walk very far,” she said.
Harmon, a PBS principal director of content, learned about Geographies of Trash when she did a story on it for South Florida PBS. Anasagasti challenged her to hop on a bike, and she’s been involved with a group she lovingly calls “the trash gang” ever since. Last year when she participated in the remote clean-up, she found plenty of trash in the canal by her home, from construction material to fast food packaging to even a high-end dishwashing machine.
It only takes five minutes to make the streets a cleaner place, she said.
“It shows how easy it is to help,” she said.
This story was produced with financial support from individuals and Berkowitz Contemporary Arts in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
